Ninja Gaiden Rage Bound: Retro, fast-paced, and revamped
- General Introduction
The year 2025 definitely seems to be the year of Ninja Guiden. The game returns in two ways. On one hand, we have the fourth installment of the series, a 3D Hakan Slash developed by Team Ninja and Platinum Games. But on the other hand, we also have a game we weren't expecting, a surprise game. I'm talking about Ninja Guiden Rage Bound. This is a return to the 2D style of the series, but in a way that makes me wonder if this is the best Ninja Guiden of its kind. In this video, I'm going to answer that question, and I'm going to do so by thoroughly analyzing the most important aspects of this new installment. We'll talk about the game's strongest points, but be careful, because we'll also talk about the not-so-good aspects of this Ninja Guiden. I'm Victor de Velos, a video game designer, and in this video, we're going to analyze Ninja Guiden Rage Bound, so get ready because we're about to begin.
- Game Overview
And in case you haven't heard enough of this new installment, Ninja Guiden Ragound is a 2D action-platformer that slightly revamps the classic style of the Ninja Guiden saga. This time, the game was developed by The Game Kitchen, as many of you know, a Spanish studio that, among other things, has been responsible for such important games as Blasphemus. However, unlike Blasphemus, this isn't a Metroidvania. We're talking about a linear action-platformer. This means that the game is divided into a series of levels with a beginning and an end, and we basically have to overcome each of these levels.
- Plot and Narrative Tone
The game's plot is presented as a lighthearted story. There isn't much depth, and the tone is more of a youthful, adolescent tone, right? And obviously, this is intentional, aiming to preserve the usual essence of classic Ninja Guiden games. And although this game is aimed at a more mature audience, we're certainly the main target. The idea is to go back a bit to those feelings we had when we played the old ones.
- Playable Characters
In this Ninja Guiden, we control two characters. On one hand, we have Kenji from the Hayagusa clan, and on the other, we have Kumori from the Black Spider clan. But of course, the interesting thing about this is that they are antagonistic characters because they are enemy clans. The important thing is that due to certain events in the game, these two characters are forced to merge to cooperate, and this creates a slightly more interesting situation with a certain chemistry between the two characters. Obviously, this has a huge impact on the gameplay, as we'll see later.
- Graphic Style and Visual Art
In any case, if anything stands out with this game, it's that one of the biggest draws is the graphics, and I'm talking about the pixel art style, a style that is very well-designed and very reminiscent of arcade games from the '90s. If we follow The Game Kitchen's trajectory a bit, especially in recent years, we'll realize that they've mastered pixel art, and in this game they've tried to bring that aspect to the forefront. Furthermore, one of the details that shines is the cates. In the classic Ninja Guiden games, there were cinematics—well, cinematics from that era—with some slightly more epic scenes depicting crucial moments in the story. This game brings back these types of scenes, and they really add a very interesting twist to the narrative.
